A D A F#m
When I was a young man I carried my pack
A E A
And I lived the free life of a rover.
D A F#m
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback
A E A
I waltzed my Matilda all over.
E D A
Then in 1915 me country said, “Son
E D A
It's time to stop rambling ‘cause there’s work to be done.ā€¯
D A F#m
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun
A E A
And they sent me away to the war.
A D A
And the band played "Waltzing Matilda"
D E
When we sailed away from the quay,
D Bm A F#m
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and cheers
A E A
We sailed off for Gallipoli.
A D A F#m
And how well I remember that terrible day
A E A
When our blood stained the sand and the water
D A F#m
And how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay
A E A
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.
E D A
Johnny Turk, he was ready, he'd primed himself well.
E D A
He shot us with bullets, and he rained us with shells,
D A F#m
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell,
A E A
Nearly blew us right back to Australia.
A D A
And the band played “Waltzing Matildaā€¯
D E
As we stopped to bury our slain.
D Bm A F#m
And we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs.
A E A
Then it started all over again.
A D A F#m
Now, those who were living did their best to survive
A E A
In that mad world of guts, blood and fire,
D A F#m
And for seven long weeks I kept myself alive
A E A
While the corpses around me piled higher.
E D A
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse-over-head
E D A
And when I awoke in me hospital bed
D A F#m
And saw what it had done, Christ! I wished I was dead.
A E A
Never knew there was worse things than dying.
A D A
And no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
A D E
Through the green bushes so far and near,
D Bm A F#m
For to hang tents and pegs a man needs two legs.
A E A
No more waltzing Matilda for me.
(Instrumental break: verse)
A D A F#m
So they collected the the crippled, the wounded and maimed
A E A
And they shipped us back home to Australia,
A D A F#m
The the legless, the armless, the blind and insaneā€¯
A E A
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla.
E D A
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay
E D A
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
A D A F#m
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
A E A
To grieve and to mourn and to pity.
A D A
And the band played "Waltzing Matilda"
A D E
As they carried us down the gangway,
D Bm A F#m
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
A E A
And they turned all their faces away.
A D A F#m
And now every April I sit on my porch
A E A
And I watch the parade pass before me.
A D A F#m
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march,
A E A
Reliving the dreams of past glory.
E D A
I see the old men all twisted and torn,
E D A
The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war,
A D A F#m
And the young people ask me, "What are they marching for?"
A E A
And I ask myself the same question.
A D A
And the band plays “Waltzing Matilda,ā€¯
D E
And the old men still answer the call,
D Bm A F#m
But year after year their numbers are fewer.
A E A
Someday no one will march there at all.
A D Bm
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda,
A F#m E
Who'll go a-waltzing Matilda with me?
A E F#m D
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the Billabong:
D A D7 A
"Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
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